Plans
by JustPlainDani
Summary: She needed someone to love her. Not just anyone, either; she needed a man. 100 Drabbles, AizenOrihime.
1. The Two

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach, not me. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

The 100 Drabbles thing, AizenOrihime with hints of others. Enjoy!

* * *

It was cold.

Orihime stared out at the moon-blanched sand, how the world seemed pale white... it was sad. And, for some reason, sadness was beautiful.

She missed the warmth. She missed the sun, the colors in her world.

Above all, she missed that head of orange, spiky hair; those chocolate eyes she'd grown to love.

* * *

He'd watched her every move. The person she'd chosen to bid farewell was Kurosaki. She was timid, she was shy, she lacked confidence.

Did he hope to change that? Not necessarily.

He did, however, want to rid her thoughts of the orange-haired kid. That's all he was; just a kid. Orihime had had to act as an adult, caring for herself since the death of her brother. She didn't need a kid to love her, she needed a man to love her. Who could provide for her, protect her, to keep her safe in the dark.

Did he want to be that man?

He'd have to play that part by ear.


	2. Fear

**Disclaimer:** "Bleach" is the brainchild of Tite Kubo, not myself. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

* * *

He'd never felt real fear in his life. Fear was not something that was normal for Aizen Sousuke to experience.

But he felt real fear watching her spar with Grimmjow.

Grimmjow was a big guy. He was muscular, he was tall. And Orihime was a full foot shorter than Aizen himself. And looked like she didn't have an inch of muscle on her.

_They're just sparring_. he reminded himself. _Just for practice_.

The ugly thing that was making his stomach do flips every time it looked like she would be hit... this was fear.

* * *

She felt fear all the time. She lived alone. She hung around with Ichigo and the gang. She knew what fear was.

So she knew she was terrified of Aizen.

He was tall. He was powerful. He was strong. And it was written across every square inch of his body.

She hated feeling powerless. It made her feel like a child. She didn't like feeling that way. At first, she'd wanted to get stronger so that Ichigo would be more appreciative of her.

Now she wanted to get stronger so she could defend herself from Aizen Sousuke and the way she'd caught him looking at her.

This thing that drove her to feel that she must use violence to protect herself... that was fear.


	3. A Mystery

**Disclaimer:** _Bleach_ and related characters, settings and plot belong to Tite Kubo. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

* * *

She sat across from him at the table. She was nervous. Her hands shook. She folded them in her lap, hiding them. He couldn't be allowed to see her trembling.

He was staring at her again, with those eyes, that hypnotic stare. It was hard to look away. She wondered fleetingly what he was thinking about. What could possibly be on his mind that would cause his eyes to her penetrate her face so deeply... as if he were solving a puzzle?

She wanted to flee. She felt uncomfortable. Yet she forced herself to stay still, somehow.

She had flaws, just like everyone else. But certain people were not allowed to see them.

* * *

He wanted to figure her out.

This girl, who cared for everyone but herself. Who, at her age, had taken herself out of the picture so as to not be a burden to her friend.

A _woman_ who possessed qualities both childlike and maturity beyond her years simultaneously. She had great composure, for he felt her discomfort- but he did not see it at all on her face.

She was a mystery... a _great_ mystery that he wanted to solve.


	4. Contentment

**Disclaimer:** _Bleach_ and all related characters, settings and plot are the brainchild of Kubo Tite. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

* * *

Safety was a feeling long forgotten to her. But here, in his arms, in the darkness, she felt safe. She could feel his chest rising and falling as he breathed, she could feel the heat coming off his body as he tightened his grip on her.

She rested her head against him, her long hair fanning out across him. She could feel her large, grey eyes beginning to close. In his arms, she was safe, she was warm. Lying here in the darkness like this, she felt... whole. Like a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

Two halves of the same soul, perhaps? That was how it felt... to her, at least. Unless they were touching in some way, she felt incomplete.

But, for now, she felt content. Warm. And, at long last, whole.

* * *

He didn't know contentedness. Every second of every day, even if he had something great, he wanted more, bigger, better things.

But not now. Not in this particular moment.

Holding the tiny girl in his arms, this is what he could hear her breathing, could feel the expansion of her lungs against his body with the action. The sweet scent of her bright hair caught his attention; it smelled like strawberries.

He wanted to keep her like this forever. This was perfect. This was what he'd strived for all along. To love and be loved.

Contentedness. If this was it, it was relaxing. Unknown.

But still perfect.


	5. Blasphemy

**Disclaimer:** _Bleach_ and related characters are the brainchild of Tite Kubo. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

* * *

"We can not continue to see each other... in this manner."

He watched in excruiating pain as her large, grey eyes filled with tears. How he wanted to wipe them away, to take her in his arms and tell her he loved her, that it would be okay, that she shouldn't cry anymore because he was there, beside her, making sure she was safe and warm and happy.

But he couldn't.

He had more important things to accomplish that would be hindered by this... _thing_. With this _girl_.

He could easily think of things that were wrong with her. She was loud. She acted like a child more often than not. She was fragile, which made her a liability on the battlefield.

Though these things came to mind, as he saw her fold her arms around herself and sink to the ground, all he could think about was putting his arms around her, trying to make her smile again.

But if he did that, she'd never believe the lie. And she _had_ to. So that he could return to the self that everyone else knew, and she could return to the life she had before he came in and changed everything.

She had to believe that...

* * *

"...You... don't... want... me?"

The words were forcibly removed from her throat. They came out choked, twisted. She could hardly recognize her own voice through the pain.

She tried to keep tears at bay. But the heat that came behind her eyes and the way her vision blurred as she sank to the floor made her realize that it was futile.

She had assumed he wouldn't want anything _real_ with her anyway. And why should he? He had the world at his feet. He could have any woman he wanted. It made no sense for him to chose her- but perfect sense for him to brush her away, like one brushes an ant from one's arm while laying in the grass on a summer afternoon.

Still, the words stung more than she expected. The massive, endless, gaping whole that ripped its way across her chest, the pain that completely enveloped her forced her into a fetal position. The sheer magnitude of the pain crushed down upon her, then closed over her.

From this unbearable, unexpected pain, she did not resurface.


	6. Baffled

**Disclaimer:** _Bleach_ and all related characters, places, etc., are the property of Tite Kubo and VIZ Media. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

**Author's Note:** I have nothing to say, other than... :)

* * *

She was shocked that he had asked for her. After all, he had just told her that...

Reliving the events of the past week were painful for her. But still, she was baffled. He wasn't one to go back on his word, or say things he didn't mean.

But he was asking for her.

* * *

He missed her.

He'd thought it would mean nothing to him to cut her out of his life. Though he was surprised that it actually hurt him to see her in pain, he had still assumed that he could just brush it off and forget it.

But he couldn't. So he asked for her.


	7. Truth

**Disclaimer:** _Bleach_ is the incredible brainchild of Tite Kubo. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay... hope this one lives up to your expectations. :)

* * *

She was right to be shocked. Back in her room, she sank to the floor and let the memory overwhelm her.

_"After much deliberation, I have decided against such a course of action."_

Cold. As if she were a military strategy rather than a human being. He didn't even have the courtesy to treat her with humility.

There it was. The Aizen Sousuke everyone knew. Though he pretended to be something different, for her. He had lied through his teeth to maintain credibility in her heart, and it had worked.

She wanted to die, but knew that it would mean he won.

She had to rise from the ashes to win the game.

* * *

The more he thought about it, the more he realized she had been correct.

She accused him of manipulating her into loving him. She couldn't have said it better. He had made himself appear to be everything the Kurosaki boy wasn't in order to seem greater in her eyes. He had gotten incredibly close to her emotionally, and probably crossed a few lines that could have been left uncrossed, to do so.

And it had worked beautifully.

His plan had been to use her power for his takeover of both Soul Society and the Living World. Manipulating her heart had been no more than a game in order to gain her dedication.

For he knew that as long as they both lived, if he told her to jump, she'd respond, "How high?"

As long as they both survived, she'd always love him. He could- would- still use her powers to his advantage.

For now, though, he had to lie low. Let her strength grow and her rage fester. Then use her.

He still had three months until the Hogyouku awoke. That would be plenty of time.


	8. Overture

**Disclaimer:** _Bleach_ belongs entirely to Tite Kubo. I receive no monetary benefit from this work.

**Author's Note:** I've been inspired once again.... Enjoy. :)

* * *

She knew that throwing herself so completely in to her training was probably unhealthy. She knew that she was hiding behind it so that she wouldn't have to face her emotions.

But she walked the halls with a new grace. She once-soft body now rippled with hardened muscle, a gift from countless hours spent running, doing practice drills, learning basic hand-to-hand skills. Her confidence was slowly returning, and it showed in the way she brushed her hair away from her shoulders, the way she held her sword, the way she fearlessly looked all the Espada- and even Aizen- in the eyes.

She wanted them to respect her. To see her as an equal, as one of their own, rather than as Aizen's tool or deadweight.

She didn't know it, but it was working.

* * *

He saw the way her eyes had turned to steel in the last few weeks, but was unsure if he was fond of the hard edge it gave her.

The changes to her body, subtle as they were to the others, did not go unnoticed by him... and were very much appreciated by him.

Her newfound confidence and demeanor, he found sexier than her earlier innocence, tenderness and sweet, loving disposition. He found himself almost in admiration of her phoenix-like transformation, and satisfied with what he'd created.

It was time to win her back.


End file.
